Lovell Belies Title of "Ghost Town"

September 1979

Although its "obituary" was printed in a recent book on ghost towns, the small city of Lovell in Logan County can certainly be classified as the Town That Refuses To Die.

Although there is little evidence remaining of the hustling oil boom town that was Lovell in the lat 20s and early 30s except in memory, the town has a population of 42 as of today, and is looking for more growth!

Lovell was born when the Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad laid tracks there, by-passing such early towns as Perth and Standard as it built fro Enid to Guthrie in 1903.

By 1906, the town has "absorbed" most of the folk fro both Perth and Standard. The Post Office was moved from Perth to Lovell in February 1906.

The town progressed slowly but steadily, and was really ready when the celebrated McGully gusher was brought in at Roxanna, just three miles away, in 1927. Soon, drilling wells and producers surrounded Lovell as well as Roxanna.

Lovell could boast seven lumber yards, one supply house, a bank, two land companies, three machine shops, two milling companies, a school and four churches. Eighteen merchants carried ads in a promotional booklet produced at that period. The population lived in both tents and houses until the boom "bubble" burst and they began trickling off to the next boom.

Lovell continued as a trading center for its farming community, thriving until the late 1940s. Better transportation via paved highways and the lessening importance of the railroad helped hasten its depletion.

The early 50s saw most of the two-story business buildings torn down to provide used bricks for new homes in Oklahoma City and elsewhere.

The push for school consolidation led to the closing of the school in 1955, with the students being sent to Marshall and Crescent.

The post office was closed in 1958, with the equipment and fixtures used to furnish a "typical" early-day post office for Oklahoma's Semi Centennial celebration at the fairgrounds in Oklahoma City. The fixtures then became a part of Frontier City, USA, and can still be seen at that amusement park. The last store closed in the late 60s.

The Lovell Christian Church survived until the early part f the present decade, when most of the remaining congregation transferring to Crescent.

But the die-hards still continue to find Lovell a peaceful place to live. The rejuvenation of the oil field within the past 10 yeas has helped, and wage earners can commute to Stillwater, Crescent, and Hennessey or wherever over the good roads that seemed to spell doom for their town.

Now they have a grocery store once again! Bill and Betty McClure built and opened it recently, and her Uncle Dudley Isaac operates it for them. Bill commutes to work in Stillwater and Betty to her job in Perry.

The school house is still used for community functions and parties, and residents vow that Lovell is blooming once more!